Alcohol burners



C. H. FRY

ALCOHOL BURNERS Dec. 27, R966 Filed May 5, 1965 W o INVENTOR Cfliffmd H.Fry

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,293,888 ALCOHOL BURNERS Clifiord H. Fry,2031 W. Calle Placida, Tucson, Ariz. 85705 Filed May 5, 1965, Ser. No.453,259 10 Claims. (Cl. 6753) This invention relates to liquid fuelburners, and more particularly to alcohol burners of the wick type.

One object of the invention is to devise a simple, practical assembly offuel container, combustion chamber and Wick holder.

Another object is to provide a special arrangement of rope-type wickhaving an enlarged upper end, thus forming a greater burning area forthe fuel.

Yet another object of the invention is to produce the enlarged upper endby tying a knot in the wick, and more specifically, a novel, generallyspherical or globular knot.

A still further object is to provide a knotted wick of this charactermade largely of mineral or non-combustible fibrous material, whereby theupper end, comprising the knot, does not require trimming.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed,and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisspecification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through the container andcombustion chamber assembly, showing one form of wick in positiontherein;

FIG. 2 is a similar section through the container lid and wick-receivingcup, the knot of the wick being shown as removed from the cup;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view illustrating the formation of adifferent type of special knot at the end of a three-strand twistedrope, the strands being shown as they appear during the initial stage ofthe knot forming operation; and

FIG. 4 is a similar view, showing the parts as they appear after thefinal stage of the knot forming operation.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and more particularly first to FIGS.1 and 2, 1 designates a fuel container, which may be advantageouslyprovided with a removable screw top or lid 2. A vertically disposed,cylindrical, open top combustion chamber 3 is supported on the lid 2 andsecured thereto, as by welding. The diameter of this combustion chamberis preferably substantially larger than that of the lid, as shown inFIG. 1. A wick-knotreceiving cup 5 is supported on the bottom of thecombustion chamber, and secured thereto, as by welding. The lid,combustion chamber and cup are assembled coaxially, and the assembly isprovided with a central opening 6. Air inlet openings 4 are provided inthe combustion chamber around the cup 5, either in the bottom, as shown,or in the side walls near the bottom, as desired.

A round cord or rope-type wick 7 passes from the container 1 up throughthe opening 6 into the cup 5, the upper end of the wick being tied in asimple, single knot 8. This, when flattened down, substantially fillsthe cup 5, as shown in FIG. 1. The alcohol is carried up the wick 7 bycapillary action, and saturates the knot 8, thus providing a greatlyenlarged area from which combustion of the fuel takes place.

With the ordinary, conventional, straight, cord-type wick, it isnecessary to trim the upper end from time to time to remove the charredportion, etc., but with my novel knotted wick, trimming of the knot isnot practical. I therefore find it desirable to construct the wicklargely of fibrous material which is non-combustible. Thus I may employa mixture of a small amount of cotton fibers with a larger proportion ofasbestos fibers, fiber glass, or other non-combustibles. A wick formedof such materials 3 ,293,888 Patented Dec. 27, 1966 does not burn orchar, and hence does not require trimming.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 I have illustrated a special and novel form of knotwhich may be used in place of the simple knot 8 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Forlack of a better name, I have referred to it as a double reverse knot.

This knot is formed at the end of a three-strand rope by individuallyinterlooping the strands with each other. In the drawing, 9 designatesthe twisted rope made up of the separate strands 10, 11 and 12. Thestrand 10 is formed into a loop 10a which passes through similar loops11a and 12a of strands 11 and 12, and crosses itself, with its endprojecting at 1011. The loop 11a of strand 11, as above mentioned,passes through loop 10a, and then the end crosses under itself and overstrand 10, and terminates at 11b. The strand 12 goes through the loop11a, and then crosses both strands 10 and 11 and itself, and terminatesat 12b.

When the loops are substantially tightened up, there is produced agenerally spherical or globular knot having a diameter two to threetimes as great as the diameter of the rope. The projecting ends 10b, 11band 12b, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, are finally cut off as at 13to produce the finished globular knot.

With this double reverse knot, it is of the utmost importance, as withthe simple knot, to employ a wick made largely of non-combustiblematerial which will not char. I have found that the three-strand ropemade by the Carborundum Company, and sold under the trade name Fiberfax,is eminently suitable. It is described as containing 15 to 20% oforganic carrier fiber mixed with What is referred to as ceramic fiber,represented as refractory, and capable of withstanding temperatures upto 2300 F.

It will be understood that, in use, the rope 9, with the completed knotat its upper end, is fed downwardly through the opening 6 into thecontainer 1 until the knot rests within the cup 5. The size and shape ofthis cup are so chosen, in every case, as to snugly enclose theparticular knot employed.

While I prefer to employ the knot-receiving cup 5, and while it isdecidedly advantageous in most cases, it is not always absolutelyessential. In some cases the cup may be omitted, and the knot supportedsimply on the bottom of the combustion chamber, where it will operatesatisfactorily.

What I claim is:

1. An alcohol burner comprising a fuel container having a removable lid,a vertically disposed cylindrical combustion chamber having at its lowerend a bottom supported on and secured to said lid, and having an openupper end, a cup within said combustion chamber supported on and securedto said bottom, said lid, combustion chamber and cup being assembledco-axially, said assembly having a central opening, and a wick passingthrough said opening and extending upwardly from said container intosaid cup, said combustion chamber having air inlet openings adjacent itslower end surrounding said cup.

2. An alcohol burner in accordance with claim 1, in which the wick is ofthe round rope type, and its upper end is formed into a knot lyingwithin said cup.

3. An alcohol burner in accordance with claim 2 in which the knottedwick is formed largely of non-combustible fibrous material, whereby theupper end containing the knot does not require trimming.

4. An alcohol burner comprising a cup having a central opening, acontainer for fuel, and a rope-type wick passing from said containerthrough said opening, into said cup, the end of said wick being formedinto a knot, said knot lying within said cup.

5. An alcohol burner comprising a cup having a central opening, acontainer for fuel, and a rope-type wick extending from said containerthrough said opening into said cup, the end of said wick being formedinto a generally spherical knot, said knot being enclosed Within saidcup.

6. An alcohol burner comprising a cup having an opening in its bottom, acontainer for fuel, and a wick extending from said container throughsaid opening into said cup, said wick consisting of a three-strand rope,the ends of said strands being individually interlooped with each otherand manipulated to form a generally globular knot substantially largerthan said rope, which knot is enclosed within said cup.

7. An alcohol burner in accordance with claim 6 in which the globularknot of the wick is composed largely of mineral, non-combustible fibrousmaterial, whereby said wick and knot, when once installed, will continueto feed fuel to be burned indefinitely, without being disturbed.

8. An alcohol burner comprising a combustion chamber having a centralopening in its bottom, a container for fuel, and a rope-type wickpassing from said container through said opening, into said combustionchamber, the end of said wick within said combustion chamber beingformed into a knot.

9. An alcohol burner comprising a fuel container, a vertically disposed,cylindrical combustion chamber having at its lower end a bottomsupported on said container, said bottom having an opening, and arope-type wick passing through said opening and into said container, theupper end of said wick being formed into a knot disposed within saidcombustion chamber.

10. An alcohol burner comprising a fuel container having a removablelid, a vertically disposed, cylindrical combustion chamber having at itslower end a bottom supported on and secured to said lid, said lid andcombustion chamber being assembled co-axially and having a centralopening, and a wick passing through said opening and extending upwardlyfrom said container into said combustion chamber, said wick being formedat its upper end into a knot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,730,253 10/1929Thesen l26-43 2,250,198 7/1941 Hutt 67-55 2,822,037 2/1958 McCutchen158--94 JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner.

1. AN ALCOHOL BURNER COMPRISING A FUEL CONTAINER HAVING A REMOVABLE LID,A VERTICALLY DISPOSED CYLINDRICAL COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVING AT ITS LOWEREND A BOTTOM SUPPORTED ON SAID SECURED TO SAID LID, AND HAVING AN OPENUPPER END, A CUP WITHIN SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER SUPPORTED ON AND SECUREDTO SAID BOTTOM, SAID LID, COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND CUP BEING ASSEMBLEDCO-AXIALLY, SAID ASSEMBLY HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING, AND A WICK PASSINGTHROUGH SAID OPENING AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID CONTAINER INTOSAID CUP, SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVING AIR INLET OPENINGS ADJACENT ITSLOWER END SURROUNDING SAID CUP.